Method for UE Pattern Indication and Measurement for Interference Coordination

ABSTRACT

A method of inter-cell interference coordination is provided for UE measurements and network access procedure. In a first embodiment, a UE in idle mode performs measurements on received radio signals applying a simplified radio resource restriction for interference coordination. The UE determines the restricted radio resource without receiving explicit measurement configuration. In a second embodiment, during various phases of a network access procedure, the UE indicates its interference status and/or additional interference information to its serving base station to enhance interference coordination. In a third embodiment, the UE in connected mode performs measurements on both interference-protected transmission resources and non-interference-protected transmission resources. The UE measurement results are used for scheduling, radio link monitoring, and/or mobility management to increase radio spectrum efficiency and to improve user experience.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§120 from nonprovisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/373,218,entitled “Method of UE Pattern Indication and Measurement forInterference Coordination,” filed on Nov. 7, 2011, the subject matter ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference. Application Ser. No.13/373,218, in turn, claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/411,052, entitled “Method of UE patternindication in Heterogeneous Network,” filed on Nov. 8, 2010; U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/411,539, entitled “Method for Staticinterference Coordination,” filed on Nov. 9, 2010, the subject matter ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to wireless networkcommunications, and, more particularly, to UE pattern indication andmeasurement for inter-cell interface coordination.

BACKGROUND

Inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) was introduced inRelease-8/9 of the 3GPP LTE standards. The basic idea of ICIC is keepingthe inter-cell interferences under control by radio resource management(RRM) methods. ICIC is inherently a multi-cell RRM function that needsto take into account information (e.g. the resource usage status andtraffic load situation) from multiple cells. Broadly speaking, the maintarget of any ICIC strategy is to determine the resources (bandwidth andpower) at each cell at any time. Then (and typically), a schedulerassigns those resources to users. Static ICIC schemes are attractive foroperators since the complexity of their deployment is very low and thereis no need for new extra signaling out of the standard. Static ICICmostly relies on the fractional frequency reuse concept, where the totalsystem bandwidth is divided into sub-bands and used by the scheduleraccordingly.

LTE Release-8/9 ICIC techniques, however, are not fully effective inmitigating control channel interference. For example, dominantinterference condition has been shown when non-CSG (close subscribergroup) macrocell users are in close proximity of CSG femtocells.Therefore, enhanced ICIC (eICIC) has been investigated from Release-10onwards to provide enhanced interference management. In LTE/LTE-ARelease-10, two main inter-cell interference scenarios for eICIC werebeing discussed: Macro-Pico scenario and Macro-Femto scenario. Ingeneral, almost-blank subframe (ABS) or silenced subframe concept isintroduced to reduce inter-cell interference. When ABS is applied, theaggressor cell suspends the scheduling or transmits with smaller powerso that the victim cell can conduct data transmission in the protectedsubframes.

In Macro-Pico scenario, a macrocell is the aggressor and may introducestrong interferences to picocells, which are called victim cells. Inthis scenario, macrocell UEs operate typically in connected mode. ABS isapplied in the macrocell so that UEs can try to search for picocells inthe protected subframes. Several radio resource management (RRM)technologies are available in LTE/LTE-A systems to mitigate inter-cellinterference. In one RRM scheme, a UE may declare radio link failure(RLF) based on radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements. Anotherpossible RRM scheme is that the UE may report measurement results to itsserving base station (eNB) for better scheduling and mobilitymanagement. Since only some subframes are protected in picocell, suchmeasurements should be modified accordingly. Otherwise, the measurementresults would be largely affected by the interfering macrocell.

In Macro-Femto scenario, a non-accessible CSG femtocell is theinterferer and macrocell is the victim cell, and macrocell UEs may be inconnected mode or in idle mode. ABS is applied in the femtocell. Thecurrent LTE RRM design has not investigated eICIC for idle mode.However, for the case of Macro-Femto inter-cell interference, UEs inidle mode also need interference coordination to prevent from any cellselection and go out-of-service (OOS) in cases when no alternativecarrier is available. For example, when a UE connected to a macrocellmoves into the vicinity of a non-accessible CSG femtocell, the UE canstay connected to the macrocell thanks to inter-cell interferencecoordination. When the UE goes to idle mode later on, UE measurementswill indicate that the macrocell is no longer suitable and the UE goesto out of service. Without interference coordination, the UE in idlemode cannot return to connected mode, unless the UE moves out of theinterfering of the femtocell. Therefore, UE measurements adapted tointerference coordination is desirable for UEs in idle mode.

In the presence of strong inter-cell interference, it is also desirablethat enhanced network access procedure such as random access channel(RACH) procedure can be applied to improve interference coordination. Inaddition, for UEs in connected mode, UE measurement enhancements arealso needed to increase radio spectrum efficiency and to improve userexperiences.

SUMMARY

A method of enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC) isprovided. To improve interference coordination, UE measurements in bothRCC_IDLE state and RCC_CONNECTED state are enhanced, as well as networkaccess procedure.

In a first embodiment, a UE in idle mode performs measurements onreceived radio signals applying a simplified radio resource restrictionfor interference coordination. The UE determines the restricted radioresources without receiving explicit measurement configuration. In oneexample, the restricted radio resources correspond to subframes used forsystem broadcast channels, paging channels and downlink common controlchannels.

In a second embodiment, during various phases of a network accessprocedure, the UE indicates its interference status and/or additionalinterference information to its serving base station to enhanceinterference coordination. In one example, the network access procedureis a random access channel (RACH) procedure. The interferenceinformation may include CSG identification (CSG_ID) or silencing patternof a non-accessible neighbor CSG femto base station.

In a third embodiment, the UE in connected mode performs measurements onboth interference-protected transmission resources andnon-interference-protected transmission resources. The UE measurementresults are used for scheduling, RLM, and/or mobility management toincrease radio spectrum efficiency and to improve user experience.

Other embodiments and advantages are described in the detaileddescription below. This summary does not purport to define theinvention. The invention is defined by the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, where like numerals indicate like components,illustrate embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall interference coordination scheme in awireless network in accordance with one novel aspect.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a method of UE measurement forinter-cell interference coordination in RCC_IDLE mode.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of interference coordinationenhancement during a RACH procedure.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a method of UE measurement forinter-cell interference coordination in RCC_IDLE mode.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of UE measurements and network accessprocedure for interference coordination in accordance with one novelaspect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of theinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

In LTE systems, two radio resource control (RRC) states namely RRC_IDLEand RRC_CONNECTED are defined. In the RRC IDLE state, a UE can receivebroadcast or multicast data, monitors a paging channel to detectincoming calls, performs neighbor cell measurements for cellselection/reselection, and acquires system information broadcasting(MIB/SIB). Mobility function is totally controlled by the UE in theRRC_IDLE state. In the RRC_CONNECTED state, the transfer of unicast datato/from UE, and the transfer of broadcast/multicast data to UE can takeplace. The UE monitors control channels associated with the shared datachannel to determine scheduled data, provides channel quality feedbackinformation, performs neighbor cell measurements and measurementreporting, and acquires MIB/SIB updating. Unlike the RRC_IDLE state,mobility and handover functions in the RRC_CONNECTED state arecontrolled by network and the UE provides assistance information such asmeasurement reports.

A UE transits from RRC_IDLE state to RRC_CONNECTED state when an RRCconnection is successfully established. The RRC connection is typicallyestablished via a network access procedure such as a random accesschannel (RACH) procedure. In LTE Release-10, enhanced inter-cellinterference coordination (eICIC) has been investigated. To improveinterference coordination, UE measurements in both RCC_IDLE state andRCC_CONNECTED state are enhanced, as well as the RACH procedure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall inter-cell interference coordinationscheme in a wireless network 100 in accordance with one novel aspect.Wireless network 100 comprises a user equipment UE 101, a neighbor basestation eNB 102, and a Macro base station MeNB 103. UE101 is locatedwithin the coverage of a macrocell provided by MeNB 103. Neighbor eNB102represents a neighbor base station of MeNB103. In a typical example,eNB102 is a Femto base station or a Pico base station that providessmaller cell coverage inside the macrocell of overlaying MeNB103. Suchnetwork deployment creates Macro-Femto or Macro-Pico inter-cellinterference scenario.

In step 111, UE101 is in RRC_IDLE mode, and UE101 has not establishedany RRC connection. In step 112, UE101 receives radio signals in themacrocell from MeNB103, together with strong interfering signals fromeNB102 (e.g., eNB 102 is a non-accessible CSG femto base station). Instep 113, UE101 performs measurements on the received radio signals,applying a simplified radio resource restriction for interferencecoordination. In one embodiment, the restricted radio resource isdetermined by UE101 without any explicit configuration. In one example,the restricted radio resources correspond to subframes used for systembroadcast channels, paging channels and downlink common control channel.In step 114, UE101 performs a network access procedure with MeNB103. Inone embodiment, an enhanced RACH procedure is performed, during whichUE101 is able to indicate its interference status and/or additionalinterference information to MeNB103 to improve interferencecoordination. In step 115, UE101 enters RRC_CONNECTED mode byestablishing a RRC connection with its serving base station MeNB103after the RACH procedure. In step 116, UE101 decodes a broadcast channel(BCH) of neighbor base station eNB102 and obtains anyinterference-protected resource pattern (e.g., almost-blank subframes(ABS) or silenced subframes) applied by eNB102. In another embodiment,UE101 obtains the interference-protected resource pattern information ofeNB102 from the signaling message of MeNB103. UE101 also receivesmeasurement configuration from its serving base station MeNB103 andobtains any interference-protected or non-interference-protected radioresource pattern applied by MeNB103. In step 117, UE101 performsmeasurements on interference-protected radio resource. In step 118,UE101 performs measurements on non-interference-protected radioresource. In step 119, UE101 sends measurements result to its servingMeNB103.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a method of UE measurement forinterference coordination in RCC_IDLE mode in a wireless network 200.Wireless network 200 comprises a macro base station MeNB 201, a CSGfemto base station FeNB202, and a UE 203. In the example of FIG. 2,femtocell 212 controlled by FeNB202 is a smaller cell located inside alarger overlaying macrocell 211 controlled by MeNB201. While UE203 iswithin the cell coverage of macrocell 211, it is also located within thecell coverage of femtocell 212. UE203 is initially in RCC_IDLE mode andperforms measurements for cell selection. For example, UE203 receivesradio signal 204 from MeNB201 and receives radio signal 205 fromFeNB202. From the received radio signals, UE203 finds that femtocell 212is the strongest cell. Unfortunately, femtocell 212 is not in UE203'swhitelist because FeNB202 is a non-accessible CSG femto base station.Femtocell 212 thus becomes an interfering cell. UE203 needs to find away to search for accessible cell (i.e., macrocell 211) and then informMeNB201 the existence of FeNB202.

In one novel aspect, UE203 performs measurement with simplified radioresource restriction for interference coordination. The objective of themethod is to minimize the need for reconfigurations to control UEmeasurements, in the context of interference coordination. One objectiveis to avoid UE measurement reconfigurations, even if the radio resourcerestriction that applies to transmission of data is changed. Anotherobjective is to avoid UE measurement reconfigurations, even if the UEmoves across cells that apply different radio resource restriction fortransmission of data. In a preferred embodiment, the need forreconfigurations is zero, i.e., the UE applies a static radio resourcerestriction for measurements. The benefits of the method are mostpronounced for UEs in idle mode. As low complexity and low batteryconsumption is essential in idle mode, such method provides the mostsimple approach with minimum need for reconfigurations. It is noted,however, that such method is generally applicable for measurements inconnected mode.

FIG. 2 also illustrates a simplified block diagram of UE203 havingvarious functional modules to carry out embodiments of the presentinvention. UE203 comprises memory 221, a processor 222, a measurementmodule 223, a radio frequency (RF) module 224 coupled to an antenna 225.Antenna 225 transmits and receives RF signals. RF module 224 receives EFsignals from antenna 225, converts them to baseband signals, and sendsthem to processor 222. RF module 224 also converts the received basebandsignals from processor 222, converts them to RF signals, and sends outto antenna 225. Processor 222 processes baseband signals and invokesdifferent function modules to perform functionalities supported byUE203. Memory 221 stores program instructions and data to control theoperation of UE203. In one novel aspect, measurement module 223 performsUE measurements with simplified radio resource restriction forinterference coordination. The measurement results are reported to aserving base station for radio resource management (RRM) purposes.

In general, for interference coordination, almost-blank subframes (ABS)or silenced subframes are applied by devices that cause interference(e.g., the aggressors) to protect devices that are subjected tointerference (e.g., the victims). ABS or silenced subframes are alsoreferred to as a type of protected radio resource, orinterference-protected radio resource. Interference-protected resourceis defined as a resource that is not used, not fully used, or partiallyused by a cell (e.g., used with power restriction, or only referencesymbols are transmitted), in order to create a better interferencesituation for UEs connected to or camping on neighbor cells.

In the example of FIG. 2, femtocell 211 is the aggressor and appliescertain ABS or silenced subframes to reduce interference to UE203.Ideally, UE203 should always perform measurements in the silencedsubframes to obtain the most accurate measurement results. UE203,however, may not know about the silencing pattern of FeNB202 (e.g., a UEdoes not read the BCCH of non-accessible CSG in idle mode). In addition,for LTE eICIC, the silencing pattern could change due to changes in loadcondition, etc.; especially such silencing pattern could be differentfor different cells for optimal performance.

In one embodiment in accordance with a novel aspect, the restrictedradio resource selected for UE measurements is a subset of radioresources that could be used for transmission/reception for the UEif/when the UE is using the cell as its serving cell. Typically, for UEsin high interference situations, where interference coordination isneeded, the resources that would be selected to be available fortransmission in one cell would be the same resources that are subject tosilencing in interferer cell. In addition, the subset is a simpler andmore static radio resource. Therefore, there is no need to configurespecifically for each cell that the UE measures. Instead, it could beassumed that all cells in a certain area could share the same subset ofresources.

In one specific embodiment, the subset of radio resources is selected tocorrespond to certain transmissions that are pre-known to use certainradio resources. As illustrated in FIG. 2, macro base station MeNB201and UEs communicate with each other by sending and receiving datacarried in a series of superframes, each contains four frames Frame#1-#4. Each frame in turn contains a plurality of subframes. For LTE,the primary broadcast channel (BCH), the primary and secondarysynchronization symbols (PSS/SSS), the transmission of SystemInformation Block (SIB) type 1, and the transmission of physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) and paging control channel (PCH), areall performed in fixed locations/subframes. For example, BCH appears insubframe #0 (SF0), SIB1 in subframe #5(SF5), and PCH in subframe #9(SF9) for FDD. Such essential channels would anyway always need to beprotected and the neighbor cells should try to refrain from schedulingin those subframes; therefore, it could be assumed that such subframeswould be suitable for measurements. A benefit of such approach is thatthe resource restriction for measurement can be completely static andhard-coded, with minimum complexity, and with no explicit signalingneeded.

The novel UE measurements method may be applied by a UE for cellselection/reselection in idle mode. By applying the restricted resourcefor UE measurements, the UE is able to check the suitability of apotential serving cell, and out of service (OOS) events or any cellselection can be avoided, which leads to better user experience. Afterthe UE finds a suitable cell, the UE performs a network access procedurewith a serving base station to establish RRC connection. In the presenceof strong interference, the UE applies enhanced network access procedureto improve interference coordination.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of interference coordinationenhancement during a network access (e.g., RACH) procedure in a wirelessnetwork 300. Wireless network 300 comprises a UE 301 and a base stationeNB 302. In general, without any information from UE301, eNB302 tries toschedule “carefully”. For example, eNB302 schedules downlink RRCsignaling at the same subframes where PCH/BCH transmits, and hope thatthere is high likelihood that such subframes are silenced by a neighbornon-accessible CSG femtocell. On the other hand, if UE301 can providemore information, then eNB302 can try to schedule “intelligently” toimprove resource usage and interference management. In one novel aspect,UE301 provides additional information to eNB302 via different steps ofthe enhanced RACH procedure.

In step 311, UE301 transmits a RACH preamble to eNB302. The RACHpreamble is transmitted over a RACH opportunity (e.g., a RACH resourceblock (RB)). If UE301 experiences strong interference from neighborcells (e.g., UE's strongest cell is a non-accessible CSG), then UE301indicates such status to eNB302. In a first option, a dedicated preamblegroup is defined for all UEs whose strongest cell is non-accessible CSG.If UE301 chooses a RACH preamble belongs to the dedicated preamblegroup, then eNB302 can deduce such status from the received RACHpreamble. In a second option, a dedicated RACH resource is defined forall UEs whose strongest cell is non-accessible CSG. If UE301 transmitsthe RACH preamble over a RACH RB belongs to the dedicated RACH resource,then eNB302 can also deduce such status from the RACH RB. In step 312,eNB302 transmits a random access response (RAR) message via an uplinkPDCCH grant to UE301.

In step 313, UE301 sends a RRC connection request (RRC CR) message(e.g., message 3) to eNB302 via an uplink common control channel (CCCH).It is assumed that all messages on the CCCH are size constrained. In afirst option, UE301 uses a reserved bit in the RRC CR message toindicate that the strongest cell for the UE is a non-accessible CSG. Ina second option, if eNB302 already figures out the problematic scenarioin the RACH preamble phase, then eNB302 can allocate larger RB forUE301. UE301 is then able to indicate CSG information as an additionalIE in the RRC CR message. The CSG information could be the CSG ID or theABS pattern of the CSG femto, which brings more scheduling flexibilityfor eNB302. In step 314, eNB302 sends a contention resolution message toUE301, followed by sending a RRC connection setup (RRC CS) message toUE301 via the CCCH in step 315.

In step 316, UE301 sends a RRC connection setup complete (RRC CS CMPL)message to eNB302 via a downlink control channel (DCCH). The RRCconnection setup complete message on the DCCH is not size constrained.In one embodiment, UE301 sends the CSG information as part of the RRC CSCMPL message. The CSG information could be the CSG ID or the ABS patternof the CSG femto, which brings more scheduling flexibility for eNB302.Note that, if eNB302 detects that the UE is strongly interfered by themethod in step 311, then eNB302 can intelligently schedule the messagesof step 312 to step 316 onto protected subframes so that they can bedecoded correctly.

After completing the above-illustrated steps in the RACH procedure,UE301 has camped on eNB302, established RRC connection and moved toRRC_CONNECTED state in step 320. In step 321, UE301 receives a RRCreconfiguration (RECONFIG) message from eNB302 for UE measurementconfiguration or reconfiguration. In step 322, UE301 responses with aRRC reconfiguration complete (RECONFIG CMPL) message back to eNB302.UE301 starts to perform measurements in step 330. In one novel aspect,when UE301 detects the existence of non-accessible CSG femto, UE301tries to decode the broadcast control channel (BCCH) of the CSG femtoand check if ABS is enabled. If ABS is enabled, then UE301 tries tomeasure the CSG femto in non-ABS subframes. Additionally, UE301 couldalso separately measure the serving cell of eNB302 by all subframes andABS-only subframes. In step 331, UE301 sends measurement report toeNB302. The measurement report is a natural place to report the ABSpattern of the CSG femto to eNB302. Based on the measurement report,eNB302 can make appropriate scheduling or handover decisionsaccordingly. More details of UE measurements in connected mode are nowillustrated below in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a method of UE measurement forinter-cell interference coordination in RCC_CONNECTED mode in a wirelessnetwork 400. Wireless network 400 comprises a macro base station MeNB401, a Pico base station PeNB 402, a Femto base station FeNB 403, and aplurality of UEs 404-406. MeNB401 provides coverage for macrocell 411,PeNB402 provides coverage for picocell 412 and a cell region extension(CRE) 413 of the picocell, and FeNB403 provides coverage for femtocell414. In the example of FIG. 4, picocell 412 and PICO CRE 413 are locatedinside overlaying macrocell 411, creating a Macro-Pico inter-cellinterference scenario. Similarly, femtocell 212 is located insideoverlaying macrocell 411, creating a Macro-Femto inter-cell interferencescenario. For interference coordination, MeNB401 applies certain ABS orsilencing pattern (e.g., subframe p+1) to protect Pico UEs, and FeNB403applies certain ABS or silencing pattern (e.g., subframe p+3) to protectMacro UEs located inside or near the femtocell.

In current LTE Release 8/9, there is no measurement restriction for themeasuring of common reference signals (CRS). UE measurement details areup to UE implementation. However, for inter-cell interferencesituations, it is beneficial for UEs to take into account measurementresults for both interference-protected transmission resources, andnon-interference-protected transmission resources. One example ofinterference-protected resources is the ABS or silenced subframesapplied in macrocells for Macro-Pico scenario or applied in femtocellsfor Macro-Femto scenario. There are two ways for UEs to makemeasurements in accordance with this novel aspect. In a first option,the UEs make specific measurements for interference-protected resources,as well as specific measurements for non-interference-protectedresources. In a second option, the UEs make specific measurements forinterference-protected resources, and unrestricted measurements that areassumed to apply for both interference-protected andnon-interference-protected resources. The benefit for the second optionis that in very complex network environment, UEs may not know to whatextent other neighbor cells employ inter-cell interference coordination.In RRC_CONNECTED state, accurate UE measurements are important so thatvarious RRM schemes can be applied to mitigate inter-cell interference.

In a first embodiment, the novel UE measurements can be used in CSI/CQImeasurement for eNB scheduling. Take the Macro-Pico scenario in FIG. 4as an example. MeNB401 applies ABS in subframe P+1, which becomes theinterference-protected subframe for picocell 412 and PICO CRE 413. Othersubframes p, p+2, and p+3 are non-interference protected subframes.UE404 measures the CSI/CQI over different resources. In one example, ifthe serving-cell-non-interference-protected resources (i.e., subframes pand p+2) have sufficient quality (i.e., seems to not be highly used),then they could be used, resulting in increased resource usage. Inanother example, if neighbor cells do not seem to make use of theserving-cell-interference-protected resources (i.e., subframe p+1), asindicated by radio measurements for these resources, then such protectedresources could be used. In this example, those protected resources areused in a secondary priority fashion; that is, macrocell stopsscheduling for UE404 in those protected resources whenever neighbor cellactivity is detected. In yet another example of Macro-Femto scenario, ifthe difference between measurement results forneighbor-cell-interference-protected resources andneighbor-cell-non-interference-protected resources start to become verybig, then this is an indication that it is beneficial to stop usingneighbor-non-interference-protected resources for UE404.

In a second embodiment, the novel UE measurements can be used in RLMmeasurements for RLF procedure. In one RRM scheme, when radio linkfailure (RLF) is declared, a UE may reselect to a cell in anotherfrequency band. If the measured radio signal strength or quality of theserving cell becomes too low, then UE cannot maintain connection withthe serving cell. In RCC_CONNECTED mode, radio link monitoring (RLM)measurements are done for this particular purpose. In the example ofFIG. 4, UE405 may receive poor signal quality from MeNB402 because ofthe strong interference from nearby FeNB402. In one novel aspect, UE405performs RLM measurements only on interference-protected radio resources(e.g., silenced subframe p+3 by FeNB403). It is assumed that UE405 canalways measure such resources, thus UE405 should not apply RLF recoveryprocedure until the channel quality of the protected resources aredeteriorated below than a threshold. Benefit of such approach is toreduce the number of RLFs that would be unnecessarily triggered.

In a third embodiment, the novel UE measurements can be used forRSRP/RSRQ measurements for mobility management. A possible correspondingRRM scheme is that the UE may report measurement results (e.g., poorreference signal received power or reference signal received quality(RSRP/RSRQ) of a serving cell) to its serving base station (eNB). In theexample of FIG. 4, UE406 is located at the edge of its serving cell 411.In one novel aspect, serving cell RSRP/RSRQ measurement to be done forresources that are protected or usable at the cell edge for UEs in theserving cell, and neighbor cell RSRP/RSRQ measurement to be done forresources that are protected or usable at the cell edge for UEs in theneighbor cell. In one example, UE406 measures the RSRP/RSRQ of servingcell 411 on all subframes (Measurement X1), and on ABS-only subframes(Measurement X2) and report both measurements to MeNB401. Based onMeasurements X1 and X2, MeNB401 decides to initiate handover orscheduling UE406 onto the ABS slots. For example, if X2 is much largerthan X1, MeNB401 only schedules UE406 onto ABS slot. On the other hand,if X2 is also bad, then MeNB401 handover UE406 to another frequencyband. Benefit of such approach is that handover decisions could becomebetter, improving the RRM efficiency and user experience. Mobilitymeasurements could be fairly compared to reflect the true situation thata UE would experience in its scheduling at the cell edge, e.g., beforeand after a potential handover.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of UE measurements and network accessprocedure for interference coordination in accordance with one novelaspect. A UE is initially in idle mode. In step 501, the UE receivesradio signals of a cell under measurement. In step 502, the UE receivesinterfering radio signals from a non-accessible neighbor cell. The UEdetermines interfered radio resources. In step 503, the UE determinesrestricted radio resources by excluding the interfered radio resources.In step 504, the UE performs measurement of the cell on the restrictedradio resources. In one embodiment, the restricted radio resourcescorrespond to subframes used for system broadcast channels, pagingchannels and downlink common control channel.

During a network access procedure, in step 511, the UE detects anon-accessible strong interfering cell. In step 512, the UE performs aRACH procedure with a base station. In step 513, the UE indicatesinterference coordination information to the base station during variousphases of the RACH procedure. During the RACH preamble transmissionphase, the UE indicates that its strongest cell is a non-accessible CSGvia the selected dedicated RACH preamble or dedicated RACH resource.During the RRC connection request phase, the UE indicates that itsstrongest cell is a non-accessible CSG via a reserved bit in the RRC CRmessage. The UE may also indicate the CSG information via an additionalIE in the RRC CR message if larger RB is allocated. The CSG informationcould be the CSG ID or the ABS pattern of the CSG femto. During the RRCconnection complete phase, the UE sends the CSG information as part ofthe RRC CS CMPL message.

After the UE has established RRC connection with its serving basestation, the UE moves to connected mode in step 521. In step 522, the UEperforms measurements on interference-protected radio resources. In step523, the UE performs measurements on non-interference-protected radioresources. In one embodiment, UE CSI/CQI measurements are applied forscheduling purpose. In another example, UE RLM measurements are appliedfor RLF procedure. In yet another example, UE RSRP/RSRQ measurements areapplied for mobility management. The benefits as compared to serving eNBalways “blindly” participate in interference coordination are increasedradio spectrum efficiency and improved user experience.

Although the present invention has been described in connection withcertain specific embodiments for instructional purposes, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, various modifications,adaptations, and combinations of various features of the describedembodiments can be practiced without departing from the scope of theinvention as set forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: (a) connecting to a base station by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system; (b) performing measurements by the UE, wherein the measurement is performed on interference-protected resources; (c) performing measurements by the UE, wherein the measurement is performed on non-interference-protected resources; and (d) transmitting measurement results of the measurements performed in (b) and (c) to the base station for radio resource management.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE performs measurements of channel state information (CSI) or channel quality indicator (CQI) for dynamic radio resource scheduling.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE performs measurements of radio link monitoring (RLM), and wherein the UE performs the RLM measurements only on the interference-protected resources.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE performs measurements of received signal reference power (RSRP) or received signal reference quality (RSRQ) of a serving cell for mobility management, and wherein the serving cell measurement is performed only on the interference-protected resources.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE performs measurements of received signal reference power (RSRP) or received signal reference quality (RSRQ) of a neighbor cell for mobility management, and wherein the neighbor cell measurement is performed only on the interference-protected resources.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the interference-protected resources correspond to silenced subframes applied in macrocells for Macro-Pico scenario or applied in femtocells for Macro-Femto scenario.
 7. A user equipment (UE), comprising: (a) connecting to a base station by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system; (b) performing measurements by the UE, wherein the measurement is performed on interference-protected resources; (c) performing measurements by the UE, wherein the measurement is performed on non-interference-protected resources; and (d) transmitting measurement results of the measurements performed in (b) and (c) to the base station for radio resource management.
 8. The UE of claim 7, wherein the UE performs measurements of channel state information (CSI) or channel quality indicator (CQI) for dynamic radio resource scheduling.
 9. The UE of claim 7, wherein the UE performs measurements of radio link monitoring (RLM), and wherein the UE performs the RLM measurement only on the interference-protected resources.
 10. The UE of claim 7, wherein the UE performs measurements of received signal reference power (RSRP) or received signal reference quality (RSRQ) of a serving cell for mobility management, and wherein the serving cell measurement is performed only on the interference-protected resources.
 11. The UE of claim 7, wherein the UE performs measurements of received signal reference power (RSRP) or received signal reference quality (RSRQ) of a neighbor cell for mobility management, and wherein the neighbor cell measurement is performed only on the interference-protected resources.
 12. The UE of claim 7, wherein the interference-protected resources correspond to silenced subframes applied in macrocells for Macro-Pico scenario or applied in femtocells for Macro-Femto scenario.
 13. A method, comprising: (a) connecting to a user equipment (UE) by a base station in a wireless communication system; (b) receiving a first measurement result from the UE, wherein the first measurement result is associates with measurements performed on interference-protected resources; (c) receiving a second measurement result from the UE, wherein the second measurement result is associated with measurements performed on non-interference-protected resources; and (d) performing radio resource management for the UE based on the measurement results of the measurements performed in (b) and (c).
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the radio resource management in (d) involves dynamic resource scheduling based on channel state information (CSI) or channel quality indicator (CQI) measurements.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the radio resource management in (d) involves mobility management based on received signal reference power (RSRP) or received signal reference quality (RSRQ) measurements.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein base station schedules the UE only on interference-protected resources if a first serving cell RSRP/RSRQ measurement result from (b) is substantially higher than a second serving cell RSRP/RSRQ measurement result from (c).
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the base station handovers the UE to another frequency band if both serving cell RSRP/RSRQ measurement results from (b) and (c) are below a threshold.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the interference-protected resources correspond to silenced subframes applied in macrocells for Macro-Pico scenario or applied in femtocells for Macro-Femto scenario. 